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Rating: Apoptygma Berzerk to the ear might seem like the moniker of a something-metal band, perhaps due to the awkward and distinctly cacophonous cluster of consonants, or due to its vague yet seemingly grandiose meaning. However, this choice of name, not entirely felicitous, conceals a very captivating proposal deserving of analysis and attention: APB is the musical project of a creative and talented Danish musician transplanted to Norway, Stephan Groth, who, starting from this debut dating back to 1993, has been one of the main proponents of that transversal artistic current primarily from Northern Europe, which within a few years would take on the identity and name of futurepop. A scene rich in ideas, sounds, and talent, with electronics and the quest for melodically potent and imaginative compositions as its only adhesive, to which each noteworthy exponent has been able to give a different interpretation based on their own inclinations and sensibilities. To create his futurepop, Stephan Groth used as his starting bases two subgenres very much in vogue in the previous decade, gothic and synth-pop, smoothing the angularities of the former and the redundancies of the latter, with the decisive addition of a secure, simple, and effective rhythmic vigor, and some baroque digressions emphasizing a quest for vision and grandeur, which would prove seminal for the genre's stylistic standards.
Seminal, indeed: all things considered, "Soli Deo Gloria" can be seen as an example of proto-futurepop, still unripe, not yet able to bring together all the stylistic components into a single koinè unlike the early works of Covenant and VNV Nation, but despite its small discrepancies and youth defects, the album overall works well, showcases an excellent melodic potential and simple structures, is immediate and captivating. Among its strengths, it's certainly worth mentioning songs like "Bitch", a very catchy melody that imposes itself effortlessly, buoyed by a great rhythm that's driving and danceable and the right amount of energy with a touch of boldness, adding a pleasant feeling of excitement, the more solemn "Heretic Burnin'", a prototype of a classic futurepop ride with a strong gothic imprint that fascinates with the twilight atmosphere created by the synths, and finally "Stitch" where the singing turns into a malevolent whisper, smoky, hypnotic, and alienating, strongly inspirational for what would be the more cerebral interpretation of FP, perfectly embodied by the Germans Seabound. These three episodes are the masterpieces that make "Soli Deo Gloria" an important and influential album, laying the foundations for a new musical language. Except for these solid pieces, the album thrives on fragments and impromptu solutions, with the most interesting being "ARP (808 edit)", two minutes of synth-pop with filtered voice and a simple and hypnotic melody, a sly and calm moment that starkly contrasts with the dynamic mood proposed and "Like Blood From The Beloved", a brief and evocative instrumental for harpsichord and synths that serves as an intro and, with the addition of gothic choirs, also as an outro, a solution of great class and excellent result, perhaps slightly misleading compared to the true nature of the album. Another interesting episode is "Backdraft" with its elaborate and obsessive rhythmic base, steeped in a characteristic feeling of unease and disorientation that brings it much closer to the classic style of futurepop compared to "Bitch" or "Heretic Burnin'", while "Ashes To Ashes" appears more suited to a live dimension given its rhythmically simple structure, decidedly punk-influenced, well-supported by Groth's declamatory and driving singing.
And now we come to the sore notes, or youthful defects if you prefer; as I already said, "Soli Deo Gloria" fails to develop a true overall vision, and for this reason, the interludes "Walk With Me" and "The Sentinel" do not add much except confusion, just as the seven minutes of "Skyscraping", too fragmentary and subject to sudden and poorly connected tempo changes to not sound like a cut and sewn jam session, experimenting with interesting rhythmic and effect solutions, proposing solid hi-nrg grooves and pleasantly acid vocals, but for theoretically being the album's most ambitious element, it decidedly lacks maturity and craftsmanship; for the rest, "Spiritual Reality" proves somewhat monotonous and melodically poor to be convincing and the Velvet Underground cover "All Tomorrow's Parties" slips away without leaving a mark. Considering the undeniable merits and historical importance for this niche genre, it's worth rounding my evaluation upward, but this is one of those cases where the absence of half votes or alternatively a base 10 rating scale is regrettable, in which "Soli Deo Gloria" would earn a full and deserved 7; we are presented with an album of sketches: outlines, ideas, and attempts, some excellent and others somewhat less so, a phase of sound design and identity construction still halfway needing further development, but still, it's already a good record overall, smooth, that can be listened to with pleasure, enriched by notable episodes, a great rhythmic section with excellent drum parts, and a versatile and charismatic singing, ultimately "Soli Deo Gloria" hints at a future rich in satisfactions for Stephan Groth and company.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Bitch (04:25)
You want to cause me death, when you are acting that way
I'm wrapped around your fingertips, I beg you stay
I'd always thought that we were two of a kind
But no we are not, now you can kiss my behind
Oh - you know I tried, but now I'd rather die
Than be with you again
I always tried, but now I've realized
I won't go through this again
Believe it or not, but I'm still alive
You're feeding off my blood just like a kick in the eye
Everytime you hurt me, I lie helpless for a day
I try to stand up but you're in my way
Everytime you hurt me, I lie helpless for a day
I try to stand up but you're in my way
You know I tried, but now I'd rather die
Than be with you again
I always tried, but now I've realized
I won't go through this again
Bitch! You know I cried, but now I'd rather die
Than be with you again
I always tried, but now I've realized
I won't go through this again
04 Stitch (03:06)
Carry me,
Sore emotion.
Drowning me.
Never break the oath.
Sin for salvation.
Like leaves we fall.
From a need to nothing
I search high and low
Do not forsake me
A breath from the past
Kissing me
Through blood stains
I never felt so calm before
The entire world is deceased
So break your soul
Lets hallucinate
Because the knife
Is a ? tool Of the worlds resurection
because you know it too
Just stick it in and show it
Reflection from the dead
The meaning of it all
It all occures as a stich
Just a stitch
It's just a stitch
06 Backdraft (04:23)
Freezing image, strobe of light, my head falls to the ground
Fighting with myself in search for life
Greedy fingers point at me, I'm on my own again
No one inside, no one to blame / am I insane?
Petrified with blasphemy so evil will occur
And try to penetrate my soul
Systolic structure is storing information in my mind
Through eyes and ears I reach my goal
Malfunction synthesystem is our destiny
We're psyched and trained to win the war
The reason is that we obey what you oppose
I listen to my conscience, don't ask why
Step inside now, watch me fall
And watch me float
Cuz we are changing structures
So kill the light, and watch me glow
07 ARP (808 edit) (02:10)
Drag me through the faithless void from endless missery.
Stay on till the end inside of me.
Drag me through the faithless void from endless missery.
Take me to a place where I can see you.
08 Spiritual Reality (04:38)
I sit down in despair
I know not to run away
Curtains down, ? with you
Those were such good days
? drowns me
Everything got dark
The space behind our closer goes through corridors of pain
I run through corridors of pain
But I'm not afraid to die
'cause I'm not afraid to die
A frozen end greets me as I ? and die
The splashed against the floor are reach out
Spirits in the sky
Thunderbolts
In softening my fears
I know where I am headed
Watch the world run through my tears
I watch the world run through my tears
And I'm not afraid to die Not afraid to die
Plasmatic drugs mutation slowly weakened through the year
As if in reach it's target slowly dies.
It dies in instant fear
Below the surface
Beneath the boiling ground,
Still searching for the truth; Why am I here, why am I bound?
Why am I here, why am i bound?
And I'm not afraid to die
It's the deepest over where you can't see, can you feel the light?
Can you feel the light?
09 Skyscraping (Schizophreniac) (07:13)
We rise up to the sky
Creating, and killing time
We reach for the best,
Leading for the shelter
We cannot stop building
We'll be scraping the sky
Someday, somehow,
We'll be so high that we'll be scraping the sky
Emotionaly dissorted,
We're looking for what's good
We're blaming ourselves cause we know we should
Expect things to happen
If we look to the sky
To kill your anger and immortalize
? , I'm on fire
? , I'm desire
Your mind is stimulating fingers,
? running through your veins
Stand up tall pull the trigger,
Save yourself and smash their brains
We rise up to the sky
Creating, and killing time
We hope for the best
Bleeding for each other
Maybe if we hurry,
We'll be scraping the sky Someday, somehow,
We'll be so high that we'll be scraping the skies
Emotionally dissorted
We are looking for what's good
We're blaming ourselves cause we know we should
Expect things to happen
If we reach for the skys
So kill your anger and immortalize
Someday, somehow,
We'll be so blind that we'll be scraping the skies
10 All Tomorrow's Parties (05:05)
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties
And what will she do with yesterday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud,
a hand-me-down gown Of rags and silks,
a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties
11 The Sentinel (01:12)
Mylord, forgive me, for I have sinned.
has tempted me yet again,
until I found myself judging all the sinners around me.
I know I should feel pity, but my anger blinds me.
But my anger blinds me.
12 Ashes to Ashes '93 (04:20)
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
Misery
Maltreatment
Needless
Suspicion
Discriminate
Body Count
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust to dust
Push out
Believing
Peace
Forgiveness
Fear
Salvation
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
Leave it
All right
Childhood
Once torn
Theft
Harassing
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust to dust
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust to dust...
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